Racism in America Potluck Forums

The Racism in America Forums are sponsored by The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and hosted by Good Shepherd. The moderator for these candid, peaceful and respectful discussion is Reverend Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas, Pastor.

How far have we come as Americans in confronting racism? This is a topic that remains so intimidating and painful that we prefer not to talk about it in public for fear of what we might say or reveal, or how others might see or treat us. In this forum series, we wish to create a safe space where we can speak openly and honestly as people of good intent who seek the best for each other and our nation as we honestly face the racial divisions of our past and present with the hope of reconciliation.

Each forum is a potluck gathering where we invite you to share a dish along with your thoughts.

Racism in America Potluck Forums – 2019/2020 Schedule

COVID-19 NOTICE – We are most thankful to Angelike Contis, Director of Mount Mansfield Community Television, who has graciously provided video coverage for the Racism in America Forums. She has kindly provided access to all Racism in America Forums dating back to our first forum in September 2018. So, if you find yourself with nothing to do during this pandemic separation, check out the Racism in America Series page on the Mount Mansfield Community TV website.

December 3, 2019Being a Muslim in America, Imam Islam, Islamic Society of Vermont, Recommended Reading: Muslims in America: A Short History by Edward E. Curtis IV. View Imam Islam’s presentation on the Internet Archive.

January 14, 2020The Future of Social and Legal Policy in a Majority People of Color Country, presented by Xusana Davis, Vermont’s First Director of Racial Equity. – VIEW JAN 14 FORUM HERE, courtesy of Xusana Davis and Mount Mansfield Community TV.

February 4, 2020 Migrant Justice. Much attention has been directed at the inhumane treatment of immigrants on our southwestern border. Teresa Mares, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, compels us to turn our attention to the unjust treatment and practices toward migrants within our own state as well. Recommended Reading: Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont by Teresa Mares.

February 25, 2020The Intersection of Race and Poverty, presented by Mark Hughes, Founder and Executive Director of Justice for All and Coordinator for the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance. Recommended Reading: The Colors of Poverty: Why Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist by Ann Chih Lin and David R. Harris.

March 10, 2020 Let’s Talk about Reparations, Sherwood Smith, Director of the Center for Cultural Pluralism at the University of Vermont. Recommended Readings: The Debt by Randall Robinson, H.R. 40, and Vermont State House Bill 478.

April 1, 2020 – CANCELLED. Civil Rights and a Conservative Supreme Court, Alec Ewald, Associate Professor of American Politics and Constitutional Law at the University of Vermont. Recommended Reading: Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court by James Macgregor Burns.

May 5, 2020 – CANCELLED.Being Native American in America, Donald Stevens, Chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation. Recommended Reading: Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale.

May 19, 2020 – CANCELLED.People of Chinese Descent in America, Karen Lew Biney-Amissah, former Director of Education at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), New York City. Recommended Reading: The Chinese in America by Iris Chang.

June 2, 2020 – If allowed by COVID-19 regulations.Where Do We Go from Here? A Conversation with Young People of Color (panel to be determined). Recommended Reading: Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority by Tim Wise.